xoxo

Watched the season finale of Gossip Girl last night with the crew. It was the first episode of the show that I’d watched in a group for ages. I distinctly remember watching the second season premiere with a big group at my friends Allie and Sarah’s house. I remember how much we FREAKED out when Marcus suddenly became royalty... and British in one of the purest examples of why that show is so awesome. Seriously, for weeks my friends and I kept repeating “I’m a Lord, I’m British” in an awesome deep British accent and laughing our heads off. But then school kicked into gear and our lives were hectic, leaving no time for group Gossip Girl. We did all want to watch the season two finale together, the huge graduation episode. But it aired the same night as our own graduation. While we joked about how we should just put that on a big screen and have the entire senior class watch it instead of actually graduating ourselves, I don’t think the school would have gone for it. Then came college, with as many changes for Blair and Serena as for me and my pals. So I was thousands of miles away, without my pals or GG watch parties. And what a travesty that was.

Because as I watched the show last night with three of my closest friends, I was reminded: this is how Gossip Girl is meant to be viewed. The series is all about the importance of relationships, of all kinds. It should be watched while surrounded by others on a comfy couch, not on a laptop in the solitude of a dorm room. Not to mention, the show’s heavy outta-nowhere surprises. It’s a lot more enjoyable to experience these in a group and jump and screech and become too invested in the lives of fictional characters with friends than all by yourself. Gossip Girl is the show of the 21st century, focused on our love of drama, surprise, and instant gratification. We like our teen soaps to be fast moving, with new drama constantly unfolding. Because, that’s what it feels like to be a teenager: constant motion. Schwartz and Savage understand this, and the show thrives on that youthful feeling, a need for drama, adventure, importance. The beginning.

These ramblings don’t even include the show’s literary merits (of which there are many, believe me). In this post, I simply want to hi-light the pure beauty that is the show’s ability to completely deconstruct any relatable high school experiences (it is a hyper-realistic story of incredibly rich, spoiled, and horrible people that have their every move monitored) while simultaneously mirroring the exact emotions of being young. Gossip Girl bares no resemblance to my life whatsoever, but I can’t take my eyes off the thing. While some profess to only like the show for it’s glossy fashion and pretty people, I know there’s more to it. Despite very similar premises (both involving glossy fashion and pretty people), 90210 and Gossip Girl receive very different quantities of fans and different levels of critical attention. Without even understanding why, people are watching Gossip Girl out of some unrealized desire to witness a warped expression of youth. An escape as way of a mirror. Not to mention, it’s aesthetically marvelous, hilarious as hell, ridiculous, and always enjoyable.

All I’m saying, the GG people do amazing work and people need to stop hating. Fin.